Anti-Harassment Policy
Anti-Harassment Policy
At EMG we shall have a safe work environment for all employees. We achieve this together, and through respect of each other's work environment and through how we treat each other. At EMG we shall have a professional and open work climate which will be achieved through teamwork, openness for each other’s differences and that all employees are feeling heard and seen.
As an employer, we are committed to ensure that our employees are treated with respect and dignity. We are responsible for preventing any risk of ill health or ostracism.
Therefor EMG applies zero tolerance towards all forms of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment or degrading treatment. Our Anti-Harassment policy aims to protect everyone at EMG from unwanted behaviors and provide guidelines to report incidents.
One prerequisite for achieving the goal of zero tolerance is that EMG as employer becomes actively engaged in promotion and prevention activities, communicating clear routines and procedures for how reports and investigations are carried out.
All harassment, degrading treatment or sexual harassment is prohibited whether it takes place within EMG premises or outside, including at social events, business trips, training sessions or conferences sponsored by EMG.
Discrimination is a violation of the principle of equal treatment. Discrimination means that an employer, for unjustified reasons, direct or indirect, treats a coworker or anyone related to the company, e.g. customer, other stakeholders etc., less well than others, and this treatment is related to discriminatory grounds (gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation or age).
Degrading treatment means actions directed at one or more employees in an offensive manner that may lead to ill health or that these individuals are excluded from the workplace community. This may include patronizing and ridiculing comments, systematically ignoring by withholding information or giving false information, criticizing and/or ridiculing a person in front of other people.
Harassment is behavior that violates a person’s integrity that is associated with one of the grounds for discrimination. Examples of harassment is patronizing, ridiculing comments referring to the individual’s gender, origin, sexual orientation or disability. Withholding information, as a systematic method of excluding someone due discriminatory grounds.
Sexual harassment is an unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that violates a person’s integrity. This may involve physical contact such as inappropriate touching, patting, hugging or kissing. Verbal conduct such as sexual comments or jokes on a coworker’s appearance or looks, suggestions with sexual intimacy or sending messages with sexual allusions on social media. It can also appear as a non verbal conduct, such as display of sexually explicit or suggestive material, whistling or leering
Sexual harassment differs from ordinary flirting in that it is considered or perceived as unwelcome. Anyone can be a victim of sexual harassment, regardless of their sex and the sex of the harasser. What matters is that the sexual conduct is unwanted and unwelcome by the person against whom the conduct is directed.
If you experience any kind of harassment or degrading treatment you will primarily turn to your closest manager
If you suspect a colleague being exposed to any harassment or degrading treatment you will turn to your closest manager or HR.
If you suspect your manager being exposed to any harassment or degrading treatment you should turn to HR or your managers manager.
Each incident must be assessed. The assessment shall, as far as possible, be objective and impartial. All parties should be heard and given a chance to give their side of the incident. Any measures should be taken against the seriousness of the investigation's end result with a focus on stopping future similar incidents.
The case will always be treated with confidentiality, the notifiers are protected from reprisals by law, and you will get help from your closest manager and HR.
All employees at EMG are responsible for our work environment and preventing any kind of degrading behavior from occurring by stating/highlighting unwelcomed behavior.
Discrimination, degrading treatment, harassment or sexual harassment should not be confused with such occasional conflicts, disagreements or problems in partner relationships that can occur in working environments. These can be solved through dialogue, listening, accepting and respecting others' right to their own opinion.
Reporting the incident
An employee or intern reports an incident to their closest manager, someone in a managerial position or directly to HR. It may be that someone has been exposed or offended, that someone has witnessed someone else being exposed or a generally unacceptable behavior without anyone being directly exposed.
2. The information is passed on
The information is passed directly to the manager of the employee who has caused the incident. If it is a manager who caused the incident, the information goes to their manager. HR, manager of the person who has experienced being exposed and, where appropriate, head of department are also informed. Out of respect for the parties involved, the information stays within this group.
3. Responsibility for handling
The manager of the employee that has caused the incident is responsible for the handling as well as the action plan unless otherwise agreed. HR and the manager of the person who has been exposed should be informed about the process. The incident must be documented in accordance with the complaint report. As a minimum, all parties should be heard and the report should include action plan and follow-up, see point 4. The aim with the handling should be that the behavior does not recur.
4. Investigation
a. Individual talk takes place immediately with the person who have been exposed, who is the one having interpretative preference. Present at the meeting should primarily be the manager and/or HR. If the nearest manager is not available, their manager or HR should present instead.
b. A meeting is made immediately with the employee who is the cause of the incident. Present at the meeting should be the manager and/or HR. Safety representative or other colleague may be present if requested by the employee.
c. If more people were present during the incident, individual meetings are also held with these people. The purpose is to find out what has happened, how they have acted and to give possible support in how they can act in future situations. In the first place, the talks must be held by the manager whose employees have caused the incident.
d. The investigation concludes with an assessment of the situation and possible action is taken. The focus is to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Consideration should be given to the gravity of the situation and always with respect of the person who has been exposed.
e. Meeting shall be conducted and the incident shall be documented in an incident report promptly. After the incident report is written, feedback should be given to all concerned within two working days. Feedback refers to taking part in the incident report, including any actions.
5. Documentation of the complaint report
Documentation of the complaint report. The handling manager is responsible for the report. You find the template here. The report is saved at HR.
6. Follow up
Follow-up of the incident is carried out with concerned persons hurriedly and based on needs on several occasions. Follow-up also takes place after a few months.